Due to the rapidly growing number of available electronic devices, controls, and communication devices, many industries, including but not limited to the automotive, aerospace, and electronic textile industries, have seen a corresponding growth in demand for ways to effectively integrate such electronic devices, controls, and communication devices, as well as their corresponding power systems, into systems and products. The increased number of electronic devices, controls, communication devices, and power systems have required an increase in the number of wires and cables that must be incorporated into such systems and products for applications (for example, power transfer and signal transmission applications). The conventional electrical wires used have been typically made of highly conductive metals such as copper, silver, and alloys thereof. However, the weight of metal wires is undesirable for applications where weight savings are important. Examples of such applications include, but are not limited to, automobiles, aircraft, spacecraft, watercraft, and electronic textile applications.
Some known efforts to reduce the weight of electrical wiring systems have involved replacing standard gauge copper wire (eg., 22 gauge) with a smaller gauge wire (e.g., 26 or 28 gauge). Although the much thinner and lighter wire (e.g., gauge 26 or 28 copper wire) exhibits ample electrical conductivity, it falls short on mechanical performance (e.g., necessary mechanical strength and durability), particularly for power transfer and signal transmission in vehicles. Mechanical strength and fatigue resistance can be increased by using metal alloys (for example, CS-95 beryllium copper alloy), but such alloys show decreased conductivity (for example, 63% as compared to pure copper wire). Additionally, flexibility is a desirable property in wires, particularly in applications such as, for example, in vehicles where space is a premium and thus flexibility in the wires is a desirable property. Moreover, in applications such as, for example, wearable textiles, flexibility and durability are also desirable. It has been discovered that due to the rigidity and fatigue characteristic of metal wires, particularly reduced gauge wires, such wires do not provide the desired strength durability and flexibility for certain applications.